Girl Golfers Just Wanna Have Fun

For most men, golf is about challenge and competition but for Laura Chung and her girlfriends, it’s about pink golf balls, bejeweled ball markers and matching outfits.

“We are just out there to have fun and when I’m with my girlfriends, they are always supportive,” Chung said. “If the ball goes forward, then it’s a great shot and everyone cheers for you.”

Chung, 42, is an attorney and mother of three who first discovered the fun of playing golf with friends about five years ago when her children’s school, Calvary Christian, was having a golf tournament fundraiser.

“Some girlfriends of mine were co-chairing the event, so they tried to recruit me and I told them, ‘Look, I’ve never even picked up a golf club,’ ” Chung said. “But it was for a good cause so I got three girlfriends to sign up with me for a foursome.”

The ladies figured if they were going to play in a tournament, they should probably take some lessons, Chung said.

“So we would take lessons together, then go out to lunch and it was just really fun,” she said. “Then we came up with the idea to get matching outfits, and shopping is always fun.”

Today golf clothes are much more form fitting and fashionable than in the past, Chung said.

“Plus it’s fun to go looking for special things like yellow or pink golf balls and shoes to match our outfits,” she said. “We always have to have cute visors too.”

Now Chung is the one co-chairing the golf tournaments and recruiting other women to play. She has helped plan the tournament at her kids’ school the past four years and this is her third year co-chairing the Buerge/YMCA Golf Tournament to benefit the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, where she is a board member.

The tournament takes place Saturday morning at Malibu Country Club and Chung and her foursome will be there ready to hit the links in style.

“For this Saturday’s tournament, we’re all wearing matching outfits because that’s what it’s all about for women. For men, it’s all about playing well, but for women it’s more about having fun,” Chung said.

When Chung is on the golf course, 70 to 80 percent of the golfers are men. She thinks more women would play if they knew how much fun it could be.

“I think a lot of women are intimidated or just afraid to mess up in front of the men,” she said. “But we’re not judgmental, so they don’t need to feel scared coming out with us.”

All the fun Chung has been having on the golf course has made her a pretty good player, which also pays off in her career, she said.

“In the business world, if you’re a woman who can golf well and can keep up with the men, you get more respect,” she said. “I was at Penmar [Golf Course] yesterday and I pretty much out drove all the men, so they look at you differently when that happens. I told my oldest daughter that if she wants to be successful, she needs to be good at golf.”